Johnny Cake

January 28, 2011

When I was a kid, I loved the Mandie Series - a collection of 40+ mystery novels for children written by the late Lois Gladys Leppard. I loved them so much that I would read every book twice or three times in anticipation for the next publication. She couldn't write them fast enough!

Someone eventually caught on to my obsession with Mandie, and decided to give me Mandie's Cookbook. I was so excited! I remember making pancakes, jelly rolls, and bread... basically any recipe in the cookbook I could find ingredients for. Needless to say, my eight-year-old self was prone to mixing errors and faulty substitutions, but my parents were kind enough to let me continue my kitchen experimentation.

I've managed to keep that old cookbook around to this day, and every now and then I'll return to its pages to see how my attempts at the recipes turn out compared to when I was a kid. Over the weekend, I showed my man a recipe in the book for Johnny Cake, an early American staple food. Of course, neither of us knew what to expect, but we wanted to try it anyway. Matt mixed the ingredients, poured the batter into the pan, and tossed it in the oven. 25 minutes later, were were looking at something resembling a crumbly, dense cornbread.

It's not bad. Goes pretty well with a little honey and my morning coffee.

Sherri - Thank you! I'd say this recipe is definitely more dense than regular cornbread, but a little sweeter. When I finally looked up "Johnny cake," I saw a lot of images resembling pancakes, so I think the 'real' Johnny Cakes are more of a flatbread.

How fun! I had a thing for the Bunnicula series...I got the Bunnicula Fun Book, which included a fudge recipe that I remember making, but I don't think I have it anymore! AND saw this project and thought of you!